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I've been blessed to have backpacked or trekked for for over 50 yrs now, and have know lots of real trekkers as i know a lot of you have, and a few yr ago when I discovered hammocks i bemoaned the fact it took me so long, but i find myself having to explain to folks when i mention I hammock now, that is not the back yard rope type, most still don't get it. But what I've really noticed is in the world of BP mag there's a lot , A LOT, of wanna be's, they read it the same way a lot of men read playboy mag, they look at all the pictures of places they're not ever going to visit, only dream about. the one thing that is great about this forum, is the vast majority have been and done of what they speak, jim

While it may be true that most of the readers of BP Mag are armchair backpackers, mostly obtaining gear and wishing to go to the locales written of within its pages. I'm not much different from them all.

Sure I'm able to get out for an occasional night or two, but it's almost exclusively a local jaunt. Never getting more than 20 miles (Approximately 32.18km for our Metric loving folk) from my home in the same bit of North Carolina low land. I see pictures and videos of trip reports from beaches, mountains, canyons, even different forests and I pine and dream of maybe one day. So really I'm not much different than those who read BP mag and dream without doing more.

Other than actually putting a fully loaded pack on my back once in a great while.

*Heaven best have trees, because I plan to lounge for eternity.

Good judgement is the result of experience and experience the result of bad judgement. - Mark Twain

I certainly meant no disrespect to anyone as i fully realize, that through the rigors of work and family, other obligations, that many such as yourself go when and where you can, and it is good to see the places and plan, my main observation is often information is published by someone who's been no further than google, laughing because it used to be the library, I have admiration for you and others who go when they can, my concern, because I've seen and helped in situations where they had the best equipment available, yet never took time to learn how or even why to use it. perhaps it different with what others have found, but i don't think theres a greater satisfaction i've seen in someone when they spend their first night out away from everything and find the softness of being alive and believing in themselves and letting the fears of the unknown go. to find how wonderfully loud the quietness is and know thay can depend on them selves, i know some of the points others have made like shug, out&back, where they just simply do it, but reality is you do what and where you can, so please I meant no disrespect to anyone, except perhaps the fear purveyors in some articles.

How "safe" you might be is going to be affected by factors that are not brought to light in that article. Do you have a tarp? Its a huge difference. A tarp has more room between you and the bear compared to a small tent that you are up against the edge of on all sides. No tarp? Then ya, chances are high that the first exploratary bite is likely to hit flesh.

I suppose if you use your hammock supports as a clothes line, then you might be more likely to have the bear get closer than someone who in a tent with a line further away.

But when it comes time to get some distance between you and the threat, you can get out of a hammock WAY faster than tent. 2 seconds compared to 30ish (fumbling in the dark for a zipper anyone?)

If you are going to make all your sleeping decisions based on minor amounts of bear safety, enjoy sleeping in your own back yard. You can't be in the woods and consider it "safe". If the bear wants you, its going to get you.